The cabinets on those Serene speakers look just... odd. Those would be a no-go for me. But perhaps that sort of thing doesn't bother you as much as it does me.

Also this:

Quote:

The Talisman measures 8" high x 5" wide x 6" deep. It is rear ported and uses a 3" full range driver. Power comes from a built in 15 W X 2 high-efficiency Class D amp with extremely low THD.

A 3-inch "full range" driver? Uh-huh...

Any of the recommendations above will likely run rings around the Serenes. That doesn't mean that the Serenes will sound bad, FWIW, but their competition seems to be Logitech and other lower-end "computer speaker" makers.

A ribbon, with that ultra-wide upper mid/lower treble dispersion, is the exact wrong choice for a small, narrow dormroom. (And people who like "classical" music do not "tend to choose ribbon tweeters" as a rule.)

Probably the best suggestion made so far is the Behringer monitor. Another good option (both considerably better and a little cheaper than the Q300 mentioned) is KEF's Q100. The Q300 goes lower and gets a little louder than the Q100, but has comparatively degraded midrange performance. For an all-in-one package (DAC/amp/speakers) KEF offers the X300 or something like that. But I'd go with Q100's and a small amp. The Griffin Twenty is $99 and not a bad choice (though it won't get super loud). It also doubles as a stand for your MacBook charger, and has a subwoofer crossover built in.

The Pioneer BS22 is also a good choice for a dorm. They sound quite good, and one's only out a small sum if someone pours bong-water on them, or throws up Natty Light all over them, or in the course of an over-excited young hookup an errant leg sends one careening to the floor.

Some powered monitors might fit the bill here. The Emotiva and Behringer options would be great (Emotiva Airmotiv 4 or Behringer Truth). For passive speakers I would definitely consider the KEF Q100s and Ascend options (CBM-170SEs) as well as the Cambridge S30s. Many members here aren´t B&W fans but IMHO the 685s sound wonderful with classical music.

Okay thanks guys for all the advice. So what can i expect the Ascend Sierra-1 to give me that would be different from the Sennheiser hd 600? Once again my knowledge of speakers is very minimal.

I cannot speak specifically to the Ascend: but what you should get (in addition to not having headphones, and most audio isn't mixed for headphones) is better HF response. I've yet to run into a sub $1k set of cans that didn't have problems over 8khz.

What about one of the Dennis Murphy designed bookshelves that Salk can build?

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think the Philharmonitor would turn out to be the better deal since the cabinet costs are lower. Plus, it has a ribbon tweeter, which I prefer--particularly for jazz and classical music. I haven't heard many powered speakers. But I am familiar with the non-powered Cambridge S30, which is an excellent deal if you don't need much bass extension.

Do you have some exact measurements of your computer desk? Size of monitor? Other stuff that will take up space on the desk?

Reason this would be good for us to know is that you really want the biggest main driver/speaker you can fit on your desk. I wouldn't go any smaller than a 5" main driver if you want decent low-end output for big Contra Bass sound in classical music. I DO have back-ported active monitors, and, yes, you have to have some distance between back of speaker and wall. The distance will depend on your room though. Mine sound best at about 12" from the back wall. Isolation pads/stands are recommended as well to keep the desk from vibrating. These will also tighten up the sound as well.

I think an X-ART ribbon tweeter is what you'll want for classical. The one in the Emotiva Airmotiv compares to the one in Adam active speakers. I used my Airmotiv 5 with just the analog out on my computer for a while. You'll be fine with compressed music codecs but you'll want a DAC for high-resolution music. There is A LOT of classical out there in SACD or 24-bit/192 kHz quality.

As others have stated, the Emotiva Airmotiv 6 are currently on sale because these are being phased out in favor of their Stealth 6. They are a bit too big for my 60" x 30" desk with 27" monitor and computer, but they are solid performers with 200w RMS per speaker. I can't recommend the Emotiva DC-1 DAC enough. It is a well-designed DAC with precision analog volume control and TWO high-quality headphone pre-amps. It also has a standard RCA analog input for legacy sources. Other DACs to consider are, of course, Topping, Dayton, Teac, Audioengine, and Parasound.

I haven't heard the Adam F7, but I did a side-by-side with the A5X vs. my Emotiva Airmotiv 5. I just couldn't justify the price of the Adam when I really couldn't tell the difference those and the Emotiva. I preferred the Emotiva over the rest of the stuff I demoed at Guitar Center as well.